Opinion

The prison industrial complex continues to exert pressure on our citizens to comply with a very dangerous trend. Drive by any middle school or high school and you see a primer for the prison lifestyle. Fenced-in campuses are guarded by personnel at a security gate, much like a military or prison complex.

This is Sunshine Week, a time to recognize the importance of openness in local, state and national government. It’s a good time to remind ourselves that open government is necessary to maintain the ideal that government should be an institution of, by and for the people.

Congratulations to all the candidates for participating in the democratic process. The Home Rule Charter was passed and two new city councilors and a mayor have been elected. This is wonderful news.

Now is the time for citizens to continue their involvement in city government by attending City Council meetings and urging our elected representatives to do the work necessary to correct the neglect of the years.

Thumbs UP for ... FIRST TIME EVER. Highlands University is sending its men’s basketball team to the NCAA Division II tournament. The Cowboys qualified as a No. 6 seed for this weekend’s regional tournament in Mankato, Minn., and will face No. 3-seeded Augustina College at 11 a.m. Saturday.

Congratulations to coach Joe Harge and his team. It’s the second straight 20-win season and the first time in the school’s history to make it to the tourney.

While voting turnout was low, I would like to thank all voters who came out to exercise their constitutional right in Ward 1 as well as citywide. I want to thank all residents of Ward 1 who supported me during my campaign and gave me their trust and confidence.

As I stated during the council race, my door will always be open to listen to our neighborhood concerns as well as citywide issues. I congratulate the winners, pray and hope that the new council and mayor will provide direction and leadership to unite us and move the city of Las Vegas in all areas of city government.

What does the future hold? Like everyone else, we at New Mexico Highlands University wish we could know with certainty, but we can’t.

Nonetheless, planning for the future is essential. Since early 2009, Highlands has been working with Studio Insite, an architectural firm specializing in helping universities plan for growth. They have examined existing facilities, pedestrian and vehicular flow patterns, and the university’s programmatic and enrollment goals to formulate a master plan for the university’s future.

I would like to thank both the members of the Las Vegas Fire Department and Gallinas Fire Department for all the help they gave me while I was in need of heart surgery. Also, thanks to everyone who contributed toward my cause.

Everything was greatly appreciated. I went through my heart surgery and am doing well. Thank you again.

Aside from the question about the percentage of votes necessary to pass the new Las Vegas city charter into law — a simple majority vs. a super majority — this much is certain: Most of last week’s voters declared that they want change. Fifty-six percent preferred a new charter over the four-decades-old document that was approved when the two Vegases united into a single city in 1970.

Actually, “change” is a familiar refrain for voters; we’ve noticed it numerous times in recent years.

Am I surprised that San Miguel County Treasurer Alfonso Ortiz handily beat two write-in opponents in last week’s mayoral election?

No. It’s rare that a write-in candidate wins. Many mention how Republican Joe Skeen won as a write-in the 1980 congressional race in southern New Mexico. But he was only the third person in U.S. history to be elected as a write-in to Congress. And there were unusual circumstances — a divided Democratic opposition and no GOP candidate on the ballot.

The recent arrest and release of a retired San Miguel County deputy on a DWI charge reminded me of a great lesson I learned in a geometry class at Robertson High School. I was a sophomore. We should have been going over the finer points of a parallelogram, but instead we were talking school politics.

Last week, 56 percent of voters approved a new charter for the city of Las Vegas — a 35-page document that includes, among other things, a requirement for runoff elections when no candidate gets a simple majority of votes.

But now some people, including former city attorney Danelle Smith, are suggesting that 60 percent was needed to pass the charter, which serves as the city’s constitution.

Ever had chills up and down your spine? I used to think it was a myth — until I saw the famous pea-soup scene in “The Exorcist,” when Regan, the possessed child, decorated Father Damien Karras’s face with it.

At the recent Health Summit held by President Obama at the Blair House, two Republican senators stated that we have the best health care in the world. One of them further told of two Canadians who came to the U.S. for that best health care, one for cancer and the other with heart disease.

Recently, former San Miguel County Undersheriff Joe Robert Urban was arrested on a charge of drunken driving. The gun-carrying Urban was stopped by state police on Mountain View Drive, officials said.

While most offenders go to jail after being arrested on suspicion of DWI, Urban, who retired just a few months ago, got to go home. He was released to his former longtime co-worker, Sheriff Benjie Vigil.

Thumbs UP for ... A SMOOTH ELECTION. More than 2,000 Las Vegas residents cast ballots Tuesday, electing a new mayor and two new council members, re-electing by acclamation the municipal judge and approving a new constitution for the city. Alfonso Ortiz was elected with a commanding majority over two write-in candidates; Tonita Gurule-Giron and David Romero won pluralities in Ward 1 and Ward 4, and a strong majority said yes to the new city charter.

Las Vegans may remember when, in 2003, Mayor Henry Sanchez led a long procession (and) read a proclamation focusing on our community’s concern about the violence perpetrated against women in Las Vegas and ...

The Las Vegas Branch of the American Association of University Women wishes to thank the citizens of Las Vegas, the Las Vegas Women’s Club, Chapter H of the Philanthropic Educational Organization, Donnelly Library and Tome on the Range for their contributions of new and used books and other media to our annual Book Sale. Without your help and support, we would not have been so successful.